Yusra Mardini, number 1 heat winner in the women’s 100m butterfly at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Just one year ago she was saving 20 lives by swimming 3 hours off the Greek coast from a sinking raft.
“It was quite hard to think that you are a swimmer and you might end up dying in the water,”-Mardini. Now she’s one of the swimmers on the refugee Olympics team.
Anjelina Lohalith, runner on the women’s 1500m team in the Rio Olympics for the refugee Olympics team. Lohalih was only 6years old when she had to leave her village because of a civil war and violence that closed her village. She was selected to be trained from a former Olympic runner Tegla Loroupe at her sports foundation in Nairobi.
Yiech Pur Biel, Paulo Lokoro, Rose Nathike, Rami Anis, all on the refugee Olympics team. They all started from nothing, they all came from a rough place, and they all believed in themselves. Now they are all Olympic athletes. These athletes all want to prove that the country and homeland they came from isn’t going to affect their talent. These athletes were chosen to be in the first ever Olympic team. This Olympic team will not only give hope to all the other refugees around the world but it proves that they are being accepted into something big and people believe in them, a symbol of hope.
‘’Tonight, the first-ever #TeamRefugees will also stand before the world and prove that you can succeed no matter where you’re from,” President Obama tweeted before the opening ceremony.
“I will carry the IOC’s flag, but my soul and heart will be with my home, Syria.” Says Rami Anis. These athletes will forever remember their country and forever be a good part and influence to all the refugees out there.
